SB Nation - Saul Rivera

Indians Acquire Mitch Talbot; Sign Saul Rivera

Tommy Rancel — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 01:00:29 -0000

The Indians completed a pair of deals today that could positively impact their 2010 pitching staff. The team a nnounced that they have acquired Mitch Talbot as a player to be named later from the Tampa Bay Rays, completing the earlier trade of Kelly Shoppach. In an unrelated move, the Tribe signed relief pitcher Saul Rivera, who had been recently let go by the Washington Nationals.

When the Indians sent Shoppach to the Rays, GM Mark Shapiro said the club had a chance to add a player who could make an impact on the 25-man roster this season. Mitch Talbot stands a chance to do that. I'm sure the Rays would've love to keep Talbot in the organization, but with him being out of options, they were in a familiar situation; move Talbot or face the chance of losing him on waivers. The Indians are hoping that Talbot works out as well as the other out of options starters Tampa Bay had to move: Edwin Jackson and Jason Hammel.

Unlike Jackson and Hammel, Talbot, 26, has little Major League experience. He spent the last three seasons in Durham pitching for the Rays Triple-A affiliate. He pitched a combined 70 innings in 2009 due to injuries. Even though he's had above average numbers in each season (~3.5 FIP), he's only pitched 9.2 innings at the Major League level. This has less to do with Talbot's talent, and a whole lot more to do with the Rays pitching depth.

The move for Talbot makes sense; he is a ready as he'll ever be to pitch in big leagues, and the Indians have spots available. He doesn't have overpowering stuff as his fastball tops out in the low 90s, but his plus change up is a perennial organizational award winner. He has also shown good control at each level.

After the announcement, Keith Law tweeted that with all things considered he rather have Talbot over Shoppach; I would agree...somewhat. Even a league average starting pitcher is worth about 2.5 WAR. Shoppach would need a pretty good season to approach that mark. However, in context, Talbot was at least the seventh best option in the Rays rotation and probably eighth best in the bullpen. Shoppach on the other hand stands to be a major upgrade over Dioner Navarro, and the Rays need all the 2010 wins they can get. The Indians get six years of Talbot which could easily make them the winners of the trade down the road, but right now I see the trade as beneficial to all parties, teams and players, involved.

About two weeks ago when the Nationals released Saul Rivera, I wrote the following: whoever his next team is will likely be getting a bargain as he'll probably cost no more than a minor league deal with a spring training invite. Today, the Indians made the move for the regression likely reliever, and the cost was a minor league deal with a spring training invite.

Rivera spent four seasons in the Nationals pen racking up a career FIP of 3.95. In 2007 and 2008, he posted back to back sub 3.5 FIP seasons in a pretty heavy work load of 177 innings. In 2009 his FIP ballooned to 5.71 thanks to an increase in HR/9 from .20 the previous seasons all the way to 1.64 this past. A ground ball pitcher, Rivera carried a HR/FB rate of 19.4 in 2009. Of the 36 fly balls allowed, seven left the yard; that is just unsustainable. His stuff is mediocre and he doesn't miss many bats, but he does get ground balls and usually limits the big fly. It won't grab many headlines, but it's under radar moves like Rivera and the earlier signing of Jason Grilli to minor league deals that often prove to be the biggest keys to bullpen construction.

Tuesday's Frosty Mug

KLSnow — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 15:36:15 -0000

by Matt Slocum - AP

Today's Frosty Mug is so full, I didn't even have time to caption this picture of Randy Wolf.

View full size photo »

Some things to read while evening out the teams.

It turned out to be a pretty active first day of the Winter Meetings. The Brewers were the talk of the late night rumor mill, based on reports that they're close to signing a three year deal with Randy Wolf (also noted in Rumorville). Tom H. says the deal is rumored to be in the $25-27 million range, and is also quantifying the amount of smoke surrounding it.

With that said, the deal mustn't be done yet, because Arn Tellem, who represents Wolf, is meeting with the Mets this morning. Jon Heyman says the Mets aren't willing to offer Wolf a three year deal.

Is this the move you were hoping for from the Brewers? I'd be happy with it at this point, as long as the price isn't much above $27 million. There's always some risk involved, but this is almost certainly a better deal than, for example, the four year deal Joel Pineiro is seeking.

Wolf might not be the only starting pitcher the Brewers acquire this week. They've reportedly discussed a deal with the Mets that would send Corey Hart to New York for John Maine, a former student of Rick Peterson who has missed most of the last year with shoulder issues (FanShot). It's unclear how much fire is behind this smoke, but the Mets are also rumored to be discussing a similar trade with the Angels, with Juan Rivera taking Hart's place.

The Brewers also added a little depth to their middle infield yesterday, claiming shortstop Luis Cruz off waivers from the Pirates (FanShot). Cruz played seven positions (everything but pitcher and catcher) last season in AAA, but has virtually zero ability with the bat (a .274 OBP in AAA last season), and Adam McCalvy confirmed the move was made for minor league, not major league depth. The Brewers don't have a true shortstop prospect in the minors above Brent Brewer and Josh Prince, neither of whom played above A-ball last season.

The Brewer bullpen suffered a blow yesterday, as Mark DiFelice underwent surgery to repair damage to his labrum and rotator cuff, and will miss the entire 2010 season (FanShot). DiFelice is 33 and undergoing his second major shoulder procedure, but intends to try to pitch in the majors again in 2011, telling Adam McCalvy "I don't want it to end like this."

This raises the stakes a little bit in the search for additional bullpen help, but the Crew won't be getting said help from Rafael Betancourt. Late in the day yesterday it was reported that the Brewers were unlikely to lure Betancourt away from a return to the Rockies. I haven't seen it confirmed, but I'm pretty sure he accepted arbitration late last night.

Looking back at a rumor from the weekend, In-Between Hops has come out against a Jeff Suppan-for-Juan Pierre deal, fearing the extra $4 million in salary the Brewers would have to take on would make it difficult for them to sign a pitcher like Randy Wolf.

And, looking back even farther, Dave Allen of FanGraphs has a look at the pitch-blocking ability of Gregg Zaun. Ken Macha is making me crazy: I should see this as a positive, but instead I see it as the excuse that might be used to keep an underperforming/overused Zaun in the lineup and a more deserving catcher on the bench.

In the minors, Brewerfan.net has a new Power 50 up. It's always interesting to see how guys move up and down the charts during the offseason. This edition's big gainers were Kentrail Davis, Jake Odorizzi and John Axford, with Hernan Iribarren, Chris Cody and Max Walla losing significant ground.

And around here, we're looking for your help to select a Brewer All-Decade Team in a series we're calling Making Your '00 Face. That link will take you to the voting for first base, where Prince Fielder has opened up what will likely turn out to be an insurmountable lead. Voting for second base will open at 4 pm today.

Around baseball:

Braves: Reliever Rafael Soriano has accepted the team's offer of arbitration.
Cardinals: Have agreed to a one year, $7.5 million deal for Brad Penny, pending a physical.
Nationals: Signed Ivan Rodriguez to a two year deal worth $6 million, acquired reliever Brian Bruney from the Yankees for a PTBNL, and released reliever Saul Rivera.
Pirates: Signed reliever Vinnie Chulk to a minor league deal.
Rangers: Acquired pitcher Clay Rapada from the Tigers for a PTBNL or cash.
Red Sox: Signed pitcher Fabio Castro and re-signed Kason Gabbard.
Rockies: Released outfielder Matt Murton, who is expected to spend 2010 in Japan.
Tigers: Re-signed Adam Everett to a one year deal, and signed reliever Brad Thomas, who has spent the last two seasons pitching in Korea.
Twins: Carl Pavano has accepted the team's arbitration offer.

The Rule 5 Draft is on Thursday, so I'm almost done burying you in links like these: Harry Pavlidis of The Hardball Times and Lisa Winston of MiLB.com have a look at several players who recently played in the Arizona Fall League and were left unprotected in the draft.

Competition is heating up in the market for Edwin Jackson. One report yesterday had the Tigers receiving 12 offers for his services. I guess that's what you get when you put a pitcher who threw over 200 effective innings last season and is due about $5 million on the market.

Speaking of pitchers the Brewers might be interested in, Justin Duchscherer declined the A's offer of salary arbitration.

I think most of us will be happy to see these former Brewers sign elsewhere, and keeping one of them in the division would be a double bonus: Jason Kendall is reportedly drawing interest from the Royals, and Braden Looper has expressed interest in pitching for the Cubs.

In case you were wondering, Keith Law has an explanation of how the Winter Meetings, usually held in a warm vacation spot, ended up in Indianapolis. The cold temps and snow haven't kept people from exchanging some tidbits of info you probably would never have known without the internet (and might not have missed):

There was apparently a small tiff between Scott Boras and new Hall of Famer Whitey Herzog over comments Herzog made about Matt Holliday, a Boras client.
Marlins manager Fredi Gonzalez didn't shoot anything while out deer hunting with Bobby Cox last week.
Former D-Back, Indian, Ray and Ranger Nick Bierbrodt, who hasn't pitched in the majors since 2004, is a ttempting a comeback.
New Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopolous is battling a cold this week, so he's not shaking anyone's hand.
Speaking of the Blue Jays, radio reporter Mike Wilner has an annoying ring tone and left his phone in the media workroom yesterday.
Craig Calcaterra brought an airport card to the meetings, making him one of the few writers not reliant on slow internet service.

And, of course we're all having fun this week, but Paul DePodesta has a reminder for all of us that many of this week's rumors will be just that, and not to get too worked up over them. Of course, no one ever gets too worked up around here, right?

Away from the meetings, here's a strange story. After months of investigation, Major League Baseball has concluded that new Twins prospect Miguel Angel Sano, who claims to be 16, is somewhere between 16 and 18. Sano also recently changed his name to Miguel Jean. If he turns out to be Miguel Tejada in disguise, the Twins will probably be very upset.

On this day in 1991, Brewer reliever Julio Machado was arrested for murder after shooting a passenger in a car that had just been involved in an accident. Machado was later found guilty and served 12 years in prison.

I don't have any Brewer birthdays today, but it is a Woot-off day, so there's that.

Drink up.

Yankees Trade Brian Bruney To Nationals For PTBNL; Saul Rivera Released

Tommy Rancel — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 22:15:09 -0000

On a day filled with many reports of players switching teams, few actually did. One of the lucky (or unlucky) few to change addresses was Brian Bruney, who was dealt by the Yankees to the Washington Nationals for the ever popular player to be named later. Bruney, soon to be 28, was considered by some as a non-tender candidate. I guess if that were the case then the Yankees could be getting something for nothing here in terms of a player or they could get some cash from Washington to help ease payroll constraints. In case you haven't heard the Yankees are trying to ball on a budgetl of around $190 million.

Bruney, soon to be 28, was considered by some as a non-tender candidate. If that were the case then the Yankees could be getting "something for nothing" here in terms of a player or they could get some cash from Washington to help ease payroll constraints. In case you haven't heard the Yankees are trying to ball on a budget of around $190 million.

Bruney's four seasons in a Yankee uniform can be easily be described as up and down. Alternating between near 3.5 FIP and 5 FIP seasons, he was unsuccessful in attempts to conquer his high walk total. Sure, his most recent seasons were slight improvements, but when your career BB/9 is north of six there really isn't anywhere to go but down. Despite throwing in the mid-to-upper 90s, Bruney was unable to convert his velocity into strikeouts, or many swings and misses for that matter. His career K/9 is decent, but doesn't match the expectations given the velocity.

In 2009, his 5.10 FIP can partly be blamed on a jump in HR/9 from .52 in 2008 to 1.38 in 2009. However, his HR/FB of 10.3% (8.0%) doesn't scream extreme regression. Even with a lower HR rate, the walks are still an issue and his above average ERA's the past two years can somewhat be explained by higher than normal LOB%.

A move to the National League may work in Bruney's favor, and leaving the home run happy Bronx should help his HR regression. The Nationals are team looking for help in nearly every way, but it's hard to see how Bruney really helps that much. Sure, he's a decent piece to an already established bullpen, but to Washington? His ERA will inflate his arbitration value and he should see a raise in the neighborhood of $2 million for 2010.

It's pretty much as non-descript of a trade as you can get, and yet some what of a weird move considering the Nationals dropped Saul Rivera to make room. Rivera had pitched well for the Nationals in the two prior seasons to 2009. His last three FIPs are: 3.42, 3.37 and 5.71 , which suggests there may be some bad mojo in his 2009 numbers; not surprisingly, there is. A predominately ground ball pitcher (51.2% career), Rivera watched seven of the 36 fly balls hit against him leave the park. A 19.4% HR/FB is begging for regression and whoever his next team is will likely be getting a bargain as he'll probably cost no more than a minor league deal with a spring training invite (I'm looking at you Andrew Friedman).

The Bill James Handbook 2010 - Projections For The Washington Nationals' Pitchers In 2010 + Fall Notes.

Ed Chigliak — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 03:00:30 -0000

More photos » by John Amis - AP

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With the help of The Bill James Handbook 2010 (available 11/1/09) and Acta Sports.com, who made Mr. James' Hitter and Pitcher projections available before the book's publication, we're able to take a look at what the future might hold for the pitchers expected to throw for the Nationals next season. Will Garrett Mock start or work out of the pen? Will some of the older pitchers like Craig Stammen and J.D. Martin make the rotation this time around? What will John Lannan's role be as more and more prospects rise through the system? What should fans expect from the Nationals' bullpen arms like Sean Burnett, Mike MacDougal or Saul Rivera? After that, what one Chicago writer says about the Nationals' managerial search, and another night in the DWL with Ian Desmond...

After The JUMP...

The Bill James Handbook 2010 Hitter Projections For The Washington Nationals' Pitchers:

Collin Balester:

Balester, Collin	G	GS	IP	K	HR	W	L	ERA	SV
'09 Projections	--	---	--	--	----	--	-	---	---
'09 Stats	7	7	30.1	20	10	1	4	6.82	0
2010 Projections	11	11	47.0	32	6	2	3	5.38	0

Jason Bergmann:

Bergmann, Jason	G	GS	IP	K	HR	W	L	ERA	SV
'09 Projections	33	21	139.0	113	20	7	9	4.25	0
'09 Stats	56	0	48.0	40	7	2	4	4.50	0
2010 Projections	73	0	60.0	48	8	3	4	4.35	0

Sean Burnett:

Burnett, Sean	G	GS	IP	K	HR	W	L	ERA	SV
'09 Projections	67	0	60.0	29	7	2	5	6.27	0
'09 Stats	71	0	57.2	43	6	2	3	3.12	1
2010 Projections	65	0	49.0	27	5	2	3	5.14	0

Tyler Clippard:

Clipper, Tyler	G	GS	IP	K	HR	W	L	ERA	SV
'09 Projections	--	---	--	--	---	--	-	---	--
'09 Stats	41	0	60.1	67	9	4	2	2.69	0
2010 Projections	62	0	91.0	84	13	4	6	4.55	0

Livan Herandez?

Hernandez, Livan	G	GS	IP	K	HR	W	L	ERA	SV
'09 Projections	27	27	150.0	84	19	8	9	4.90	0
'09 Stats	31	31	183.2	102	19	9	12	5.44	0
2010 Projections	31	31	188.0	103	23	8	13	4.98	0

Logan Kensing:

Kensing, Logan	G	GS	IP	K	HR	W	L	ERA	SV
'09 Projections	43	0	46.0	45	6	2	3	4.33	0
'09 Stats	32	0	35.1	19	8	1	2	8.92	1
2010 Projections	36	0	41.0	38	8	2	3	4.81	0

John Lannan:

	G	GS	IP	K	HR	W	L	ERA	SV
'09 Projections	29	29	177.0	103	18	9	11	4.08	0
'09 Stats	33	33	206.1	89	22	9	13	3.88	0
2010 Projections	32	32	199.0	101	21	11	11	4.03	0

Mike MacDougal:

MacDougal, Mike	G	GS	IP	K	HR	W	L	ERA	SV
'09 Projections	--	---	--	--	---	--	-	----	---
'09 Stats	52	0	50.0	31	3	1	1	3.60	20
2010 Projections	67	0	67.0	59	4	3	4	4.43	4

J.D. Martin:

J.D. Martin	G	GS	IP	K	HR	W	L	ERA	SV
'09 Projections	--	---	--	--	---	--	-	---	--
'09 Stats	15	15	77.0	37	14	5	4	4.44	0
2010 Projections	29	29	177.0	125	19	10	10	4.07	0

Shairon Martis:

Martis, Shairon	G	GS	IP	K	HR	W	L	ERA	SV
'09 Projections	--	---	--	--	---	--	-	---	--
'09 Stats	15	15	85.2	34	11	5	3	5.25	0
2010 Projections	7	7	43.0	26	26	2	3	5.23	0

Garrett Mock:

Mock, Garrett	G	GS	IP	K	HR	W	L	ERA	SV
'09 Projections	--	---	--	--	---	--	-	---	--
'09 Stats	28	15	91.1	72	9	3	10	5.62	0
2010 Projections	31	25	143.0	122	14	8	10	4.91	o

Scott Olsen:

Olsen, Scott	G	GS	IP	K	HR	W	L	ERA	SV
'09 Projections	32	32	199.0	153	29	10	12	4.58	0
'09 Stats	11	11	62.2	42	11	2	4	6.03	0
2010 Projections	22	22	121.0	91	18	5	8	4.98	0

Saul Rivera:

Rivera, Saul	G	GS	IP	K	HR	W	L	ERA	SV
'09 Projections	74	0	80	60	3	4	4	3.80	0
'09 Stats	30	0	38.1	21	7	1	3	6.10	0
2010 Projections	43.0	0	59.0	42	3	3	4	4.42	0

Craig Stammen:

Stammen, Craig	G	GS	IP	K	HR	W	L	ERA	SV
'09 Projections	--	---	--	--	---	--	-	---	--
'09 Stats	19	19	105.2	48	14	4	7	5.11	0
2010 Projections	20	20	120.0	64	13	6	8	4.50	0

Ron Villone:

Villone, Ron	G	GS	IP	K	HR	W	L	ERA	SV
'09 Projections	76	0	42.0	36	4	2	2	4.22	0
'09 Stats	63	0	48.2	33	6	5	6	4.25	1
2010 Projections	71	0	54.0	44	5	3	3	4.33	0

?'s Raised By The #'s:

• Is there any room on the pitching staff for Logan Kensing in 2010? What bullpen arms from last year are you bringing back? Which would you part with?

• Which pitchers will make the twenty-ten rotation? Craig Stammen? Collin Balester? J.D. Martin? Shairon Martis? Do you expect anything from Scott Olsen?

• Mike MacDougal's projections are cleary skewed by the fact that he hadn't saved a game since 2006 before '09's 20 saves? Will MacDougal hold the closer's role throughout the twenty-ten campaign?

• A .500 season from John Lannan? Does that mean he'll finally receive some support this season? Is anyone guaranteed an 2010 rotation spot right now, outside of Lannan?

• Is Livan Hernandez coming back to DC next season?

2010 Skipper Search UPDATE:

If you haven't already read this when it was linked to in the comments of a previous post or elsewhere around the internet, since it was basically the only "news" to come out of DC this weekend, check out Chicago Tribune writer Phil Rogers "On Baseball" column entitled, "Cuban pitcher Aroldis Chapman in great demand", wherein, Mr. uh, Rogers writes (without citing a source, anonymous or otherwise) that the time for Bobby Valentine to claim a major league managing job may have passed:

"Bobby Valentine may be shut out on the job market. He was a finalist for the Indians job that went to Manny Acta, and it appears the Nationals are close to giving former Cubs manager Jim Riggleman the job he had on an interim basis last season."

Is the Washington Nationals' search for a full-time manager going to end with a promotion?

Saturday Night In The DWL:

The Tigres del Licey and Gigantes del Cibao squared off on Saturday with Nationals' infielder Ian Desmond starting at second for Licey and going 1 for 2 with a walk and a sac fly RBI, but it was Desmond's throwing error in the ninth that allowed the Gigantes to rally to tie the game at 3-3 and eventually steal a walk-off win when Tigres' pitcher Oneli Perez gave up a sac fly to left that ended it. Desmond's first DWL error proves costly. The 24-year-old, who impressed after his September call-up to DC, is now hitting .214 (6 for 28) with 7 RBI's in 8 games. Notes: Atahualpa Severino got a backwards K from the first batter he faced in the eighth after replacing Yhancy Brazoban, but Severino was out after allowing a run-scoring single in the next AB, though the run was Brazoban's.

Final Score: Gigantes 4, Tigres 3. MLB.com Box Score.

Washington Nationals: 2009 Post-Season Player Achievement Awards.

Ed Chigliak — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 04:40:09 -0000

More photos » by Alan Diaz - AP

8 months ago: Washington Nationals' Adam Dunn (44) is congratulated by teammates Cristian Guzman (15) and Ryan Zimmerman (11) after hitting a three-run home run against the Florida Marlins' in the sixth inning of a baseball game in Miami, Monday, April 6, 2009. Guzman and Zimmerman scored on the home run. The Marlins won 12-6. (AP Photo/Alan Diaz)

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Under the auspices of The Washington, DC Internet Baseball Writers Association (DC-IBWA), a selection of Washington Nationals blogs and bloggers voted recently for the first Washington Nationals Post Season Player Achievement Awards with 20 ballots submitted from "online media outlets" covering the Nationals including: Nationals News Network, Nationals Pride, We've Got Heart, Centerfield Gate, FJB, Federal Baseball, The Nationals Enquirer, DC Sports Box, Nationals Inquisition, Nats Fanboy Looser, Planetary Nats, Bang! Zoom!, Nats Nation, Let Teddy Win!, Nationals Review, DC Sports Plus and Passing Time Between Wil Nieves Bombs, all choosing which Nationals would win the following awards:

• Goose Goslin Most Valuable Player*

-- Player most valuable to the success of the Washington Nationals:

• Walter Johnson Starting Pitcher of the Year*

-- Excellent performance as a starting pitcher

• Frederick "Firpo" Marberry Relief Pitcher of the Year*

-- Excellent performance as a relief pitcher

• Sam Rice Hitter of the Year*

-- Excellence in all-around hitting, situational hitting and baserunning

• Frank Howard Slugger of the Year*

-- Excellence in power hitting

• Joe Judge Defensive Player of the Year*

-- Excellence in fielding

• Mickey Vernon Comeback Player of the Year*

-- Player who overcame biggest obstacle in the preceding season to contribute on the field

• Josh Gibson Humanitarian Player of the Year*

-- Player who meritoriously gave of himself to the community

• Minor League Player of the Year*

-- Minor league player most destined for big league success

(ed. note - " * = Detailed biographies included in PDF Press Release Included After The JUMP.")

• THE RESULTS...AFTER THE JUMP!!!

• DC-IBWA Awards Official Press Release.

(ed. note - "Voters chose 1st, 2nd and 3rd place finalists for each award with (1st = 5 points), (2nd = 3 points), (3rd = 1 point)...")

• Goose Goslin Most Valuable Player*

-- Player most valuable to the success of the Washington Nationals:

Ryan Zimmerman (92 points, 16 1st Place votes)
Adam Dunn (41 points, 1 1st Place vote)
Nyjer Morgan (25 points, 3 1st Place votes)
(Others: John Lannan (19 points), Josh Willingham (3 points))

• Walter Johnson Starting Pitcher of the Year*

-- Excellent performance as a starting pitcher

John Lannan (96 points, 18 1st Place votes)
Jordan Zimmermann (42 points, 2 1st Place votes)
Craig Stammen (22 points)
(Others: J.D. Martin (6 points), Garrett Mock (4 points), Livan Hernandez (3 points), Ross Detwiler (2 points))

• Frederick "Firpo" Marberry Relief Pitcher of the Year*

-- Excellent performance as a relief pitcher

Tyler Clippard (80 points, 13 1st Place votes)
Mike MacDougal (55 points, 6 1st Place votes)
Sean Burnett (29 points, 1 1st Place vote)
(Others: Jason Bergmann (6 points), Joe Beimel (5 points), Ron Villone (3 points), Saul Rivera (1 point))

• Sam Rice Hitter of the Year*

-- Excellence in all-around hitting, situational hitting and baserunning

Ryan Zimmerman (81 points, 14 1st Place votes)
Adam Dunn - (39 points, 2 1st Place votes)
Nyjer Morgan - (26 points, 3 1st Place votes)
(Others: Josh Willingham (14 points), Nick Johnson (9 points, 1 1st Place vote), Cristian Guzman (6 points))

• Frank Howard Slugger of the Year*

-- Excellence in power hitting

Adam Dunn (100 points, 20 1st Place votes)
Ryan Zimmerman (46 points)
Josh Willingham (27 points)

• Joe Judge Defensive Player of the Year*

-- Excellence in fielding

Ryan Zimmerman (88 points, 14 1st Place votes)
Nyjer Morgan (69 points, 6 1st Place votes)
Willie Harris (12 points)

• Mickey Vernon Comeback Player of the Year*

-- Player who overcame biggest obstacle in the preceding season to contribute on the field

Nick Johnson (50 points, 10 1st Place votes)
Mike MacDougal (20 points, 1 1st Place vote)
Ryan Zimmerman (18 points, 3 1st Place voes)

• Josh Gibson Humanitarian Player of the Year

-- Player who meritoriously gave of himself to the community

John Lannan (72 points, 12 1st Place votes)
Ryan Zimmerman (44 points, 4 1st Place votes)
Wil Nieves (21 points, 3 1st Place votes)
(Others: Josh Willingham (9 points), Nyjer Morgan, Willie Harris, Elijah Dukes (3), Tyler Clippard (1))

• Minor League Player of the Year

-- Minor league player most destined for big league success

Derek Norris (54 points, nine first place votes)
Ian Desmond (53 points, nine first place votes)
Drew Storen (41 points, two first place votes)
(Others: Bradley Meyers (16 points), Chris Marrero (7 points), Mike Morse (4 points), Daniel Espinosa (2 points), Ross Detwiler (1), Jorge Padilla (1)).

(ed. note - "Thanks to Dave from NNN, who's behind all of this...")

Cast Your Own Votes In The Comments Section.

Washington Nationals Win Season Finale In 15 Innings, Sweep Atlanta Braves To Finish 2009 59-103.

Ed Chigliak — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 23:23:55 -0000

More photos » by John Amis - AP

2 months ago: Washington Nationals' Elijah Dukes takes his base with a smile after being walked by Atlanta Braves' Boone Logan during the 15th inning of their baseball game Sunday Oct. 4, 2009, in Atlanta. Dukes later scored on a hit by Alberto Gonzalez to win 2-1. (AP Photo/John Amis)

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SWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEPPP!!!!!!!

Game 162 of 2009 took 4 hours, 18 minutes and 15 innings to finish and when it was over the Washington Nationals had completed a four-game sweep of the Atlanta Braves for their seventh-straight win (and second-straight sweep) to end a 2009 season they started 0-7 before recording their first win...And, yes, that is the first time that's ever happened...DC starter J.D. Martin allows just one-run on 6 hits in 6.0 IP, giving up Nate McLouth's solo HR to leadoff the sixth and put Atlanta ahead 1-0. Braves' righty Tim Hudson gives up just 4 hits through 6.0 IP, but three-straight singles from Alberto Gonzalez, Jorge Padilla and pinch hitter Adam Dunn bring in the tying run in the seventh and it remains tied through fourteen before Elijah Dukes takes a one-out walk and Wil Nieves and Alberto Gonzalez hit back to back two-out singles to score Dukes for the winning run...

Nationals win, 2-1 final.

Miss The Game?

• The DC Faithful Were Watching!!! (634 comments) vs The Talking Chop Open Thread (718 comments)

• "Game 162: Finally, some history we can call our own!" - Doghouse.

• BACKPAGE: Dunn Doesn't Reach 40 - J.D. Martin Finishes Strong - Strasburg To Pitch Tomorrow.

• For The Completist, Full (and I mean FULL) Game Report After The JUMP...

Nationals finish 2009 59-103.

BACKPAGE:

• Dunn Doesn't Reach 40...Adam Dunn hit his 38th HR of 2009 on September 22nd against Los Angeles, leaving the Nationals' big left-handed hitting slugger with 10 games to hit the 39th and 40th HR's of 2009. Had he reached 40 HR's for the sixth-straight season, Dunn would've been one of only four players in MLB history (along with Alex Rodriguez, Sammy Sosa and Babe Ruth) to hit 40+ HR's in six-straight seasons, leaving him just one behind Ruth's industry standard of seven-straight 40 HR seasons. Dunn, however, managed just 3 hits in his next 36 at bats (2 of them doubles, but no HR's) heading into today's game, and when he wasn't in the starting lineup, the DC Faithful knew it was over. Having failed to reach 40 HR's for the first time in six seasons didn't seem to upset Dunn too much. The Big Walky, Big Opposite Field, The Big First Baseman, singled in one of Washington's two runs in a pinch hit appearance this afternoon to finish the season with a .267 AVG, 29 doubles, 38 HR's and 105 RBI's.

• J.D. Martin Finishes Strong...With no-decisions in his last 4 starts, J.D. Martin finishes the 2009 campaign (5-4) with a 4.44 ERA, one of only two Nationals' pitchers to finish the season with a record above .500. (Shairon Martis finished (5-3), though he was sent down in mid-June and didn't return). In his final start of 2009, Martin throws 73 pitches, 50 for strikes in 6.0 IP, allowing just 6 hits and 1 ER. The Nationals' 26-year-old right-hander, who was (8-3) with a 2.66 ERA in 15 starts, 1 relief appearance and 88.0 IP with the Triple-A Syracuse Chiefs before making his MLB debut on July 20th, 2009, might just have pitched his way onto the 20-10 roster.

• Strasburg To Pitch Tomorrow...I know it's a cliche to say that the 2010 season starts the second the final out of 2009 is recorded, but with MLB.com's Bill Ladson writing this afternoon that '09 #1 overall pick, Stephen Strasburg would be making his first appearance as a National tomorrow afternoon in an instructional league game against Detroit, it is actually accurate. Instructional League, The Arizona Fall League, the Dominican Winter League, baseball never really stops, and neither do we...see you...tomorrow.

GAME REPORT:

Washington Nationals At Atlanta Braves. Game 162 Of 162.

Justin Maxwell vs Tim Hudson to start the last game of the season, and a brutal two-strike bender gets J-Max swinging for the first out of the day. Ian Desmond takes a 2-2 fastball on the low outside corner for a called strike three. Pete Orr smokes a single through second for a two-out hit in front of Elijah Dukes. Dukes rolls the third out to first to end the opening frame...Jorge Padilla bounces off the wall as he closes the glove on a fly ball out from Nate McLouth. Pete Orr dives toward the third base line but can’t get to Omar Infante’s line drive double. Martin Prado pops out to second. Garrett Anderson grounds out to first, inning over.

Mike Morse grounds weakly to third to start the second. Josh Bard likes the first pitch he sees and he grounds out to second. Alberto Gonzalez flies to right to end the Nationals’ half...Adam LaRoche flies out to right field. Yunel Escobar gives Dukes more work. Kelly Johnson grounds to Morse at first to end the second.

Jorge Padilla swings wildly over a full-count sinker. J.D. Martin stares strike three all the way in. Justin Maxwell walks with two down. Ian Desmond hits a high chopper that dies in the grass halfway to third, refusing to go foul. Pete Orr grounds to LaRoche at first and it’s 0-0 in the third...Clint Sammons skies one to right for Elijah Dukes to get under. Tim Hudson lines a one-out single to center and the oh-oh-oh-ing starts in Atlanta. Nate McLouth takes a 2-2 slider on the outside edge. Omar Infante flies out to left.

Elijah Dukes takes a low full-count slider but Tim Hudson gets the call. Mike Morse flies out to right. Josh Bard slips a hard-hit grounder by first and hustles his way to second. Alberto Gonzalez grounds out to end the Nationals’ fourth...Martin Prado flies out to Elijah Dukes in right. Garrett Anderson pops out over short, and J.D. Martin gets a fly ball from Adam LaRoche to end the fourth scoreless.

Jorge Padilla hits a fly ball out to Nate McLouth in center field for Atlanta. J.D. Martin can’t handle what Hudson’s throwing, but Justin Maxwell just takes and takes and walks, then tries to take more but gets caught trying to steal second, no score after four and a half...Yunel Escobar takes strike three and has few choice bi-lingual words for the Ump. Kelly Johnson singles through second with one down. Clint Sammons flies out to Justin Maxwell in center.

Ian Desmond grounds out to third. Pete Orr pops out to third. Elijah Dukes hits a two-out single to left field, but Mike Morse’s infield pop ends the top of the sixth...J.D. Martin gives up a long fly ball to right on an 0-1 change to Nate McLouth, who puts it over the wall for a 1-0 lead. Jorge Padilla sprints to the corner to catch the first out off of Omar Infante’s bat. Martin Prado drives a single by a lunging Ian Desmond at second. Garrett Anderson lines out to Jorge Padilla in left for out No. 2. Adam LaRoche lines to left field, Jorge Padilla comes up throwing and nails Prado trying for third.

Josh Bard leads off the seventh against Tim Hudson. Bard grounds out to second. Alberto Gonzalez singles to center and Jorge Padilla follows with a second-straight single and Adam Dunn gets a PH chance. Dunn lines a hanging bender to right to score Gonzalez from second for a 1-1 tie!!! Justin Maxwell K’s/fails swinging through an 0-2 fastball upstairs and inside. Ian Desmond grounds out to first to strand two. 1-1 in the seventh...Yunel Escobar sends the first pitch from Tyler Clippard soaring into center field for Justin Maxwell. Kelly Johnson K’s swinging through a two-strike change. Clint Sammons K’s looking at a fastball inside.

Pete Orr grounds out to second to start the Nationals’ eighth. Braves’ reliever Peter Moylan walks Elijah Dukes with one down. Mike Morse grounds to Yunel Escobar to Kelly Johnson to Adam LaRoche at first, double play...Chipper Jones guides a high outside heater through short for a single. Nate McLouth gets a sac bunt down and gets tagged out by Clippard as Chipper moves up. Pete Orr looks Chipper back to second and throws out Omar Infante on a weak grounder. Martin Prado flies to deep center, but Justin Maxwell gets there, no problem.

Josh Bard pops up a 2-1 pitch from Rafael Soriano. Alberto Gonzalez takes a one-out walk in front of pinch hitter Josh Willingham. The Hammer K’s swinging through a high heater. Cristian Guzman grounds out to end the Nationals’ ninth...Ron Villone gets a groundout to third from Garrett Anderson. Adam LaRoche K’s swinging through a 2-2 bender upstairs. Yunel Escobar keeps hope alive for Atlanta with a two-out single through second. Kelly Johnson hits a broken bat blooper to second and the last game will take more than nine innings to decide.

Kris Medlen gets Justin Maxwell swinging to start the tenth. Ian Desmond rrrrips a grounder by third base and into the corner for a one-out double to left. Pete Orr pops out to short center. Elijah Dukes grounds out to second to end the top of the tenth...Ron Villone’s back in the tenth against Clint Sammons, who flies out to left. Pinch hitter Greg Norton takes a one-out walk. Nate McLouth K’s swinging through a looping bender over the middle. Jason Bergmann on for Villone against Omar Infante. Infante battles, but K’s swinging through a full-count slider!!

Kenshin Kawakami vs Mike Morse in the eleventh. Morse sends a dribbler by Adam LaRoche at first and Omar Infante misplays it to give Morse second. Wil Nieves tries the sac bunt and hits it too hard, Morse cut down at third. Alberto Gonzalez grounds to Yunel Escobar to Kelly Johnson to Adam LaRoche, double play...Saul "Sa-ool" Rivera pops up Martin Prado. Reid Garecki K’s swinging through a high fastball. Adam LaRoche grounds to first to end the eleventh.

Josh Willingham singles to left and takes second on a sac bunt from Saul Rivera. Justin Maxwell vs Kenshin Kawakami. Maxwell can’t hold up and he K’s swinging at a low fastball for the second out. Ian Desmond up when a wild pitch from Kawakami gets by Clint Sammons. Hammer to third. Ian Desmond lines to left and it’s...caught, Omar Infante makes a shoestring catch to rob Desmond...Saul Rivera gets a weak grounder from Yunel Escobar for the first out. Kelly Johnson rips one to first, Mike Morse knocks it down and tosses to Rivera covering. Clint Sammons shatters his bat but singles with two down. Pinch hitter Brian McCann grounds back to the mound and it’s on to the thirteenth.

Eric O’Flaherty takes over on the mound for Atlanta in the thirteenth. Pete Orr grounds out to second. Elijah Dukes flies out to center. Mike Morse K’s swinging...Nate McLouth flies out to the track in center field for Justin Maxwell. Omar Infante lines a double on one hop and over the wall in center with one down. Saul Rivera walks Martin Prado in front of Brooks Conrad, who flies out harmlessly to center. Adam LaRoche grounds out to first, and it’s on to the fourteenth...

Manny Acosta takes over against Wil Nieves, who walks to start the frame. Alberto Gonzalez flies out unproductively to center field. Josh Willingham can’t hold up on a low two-strike heater. Pinch hitter Ryan Zimmerman drives a double to center, McLouth cuts it off and Nieves stops at second. Justin Maxwell walks to load the bases for Ian Desmond...Logan Kensing’s on for DC. Yunel Escobar starts the Braves’ half with a line drive single to left. Kelly Johnson grounds to second, Alberto Gonzalez to Ian Desmond to Mike Morse, double play. Clint Sammons grounds back to the mound.

Pete Orr K’s looking to start the fifteenth. Boone Logan, the Braves’ right-hander, walks Elijah Dukes with one down. Mike Morse flies out unproductively to left. Wil Nieves singles to short right to move Dukes up. Alberto Gonzalez lines an RBI single to the left-center gap!! Dukes scores, 2-1 Nationals!!! Josh Willingham K’s looking to end the top of the frame...Logan Kensing vs Javier Vazquez. Vazquez grounds one off Logan Kensing’s pitching hand, Ian Desmond picks it up and throws out the pinch hitting pitcher. Nate McLouth K’s swinging over a sinker. Omar Infante singles up the middle with two down. Martin Prado drills an 0-2 pitch to left center, second and third with two down. Brooks Conrad K’s trying to check his swing and it’s over. Nationals win, 2-1 final.

Nationals finish season 59-103.

Washington Nationals Win Sixth-Straight, 6-4 Over Atlanta Braves.

Ed Chigliak — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 01:08:46 -0000

More photos » by John Amis - AP

2 months ago: Washington Nationals' Justin Maxwell is congratulated in the dugout after his winning two run homer against the Atlanta Braves during the eleventh inning of their baseball game Saturday Oct. 3, 2009, in Atlanta. Washington won 6-4. (AP Photo/John Amis)

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Ryan Zimmerman hits an RBI single in the first to score Willie Harris from second for the first run of the game and Ian Desmond leads off the fourth with a HR to left off Braves’ right-hander Jair Jurrjens as the left side of the 20-10 Nationals’ infield gives Washington a 2-0 lead that Ross Detwiler preserves through five innings on the mound. Saul Rivera takes over for DC in the sixth and gets two outs, but leaves two on for left-hander Ron Villone, who’ll have to face Brian McCann, representing the tying run at the plate. McCann singles through short and it’s tied at 2-2 after six...

The exciting conclusion...AFTER THE JUMP....

• Miss The Game?:

• The DC Faithful In The GameThread (452 comments) vs The Talking Chop OpenThread (216 comments).

(cont.)...

• (ed. note - "I’d love to go into more detail about what happened, but FOX decided to finally broadcast a game involving the Nationals when they thought (early this week) that the Braves might still be in contention, and therefore I’m FOX’d out of the next-to-last game of 2009 since they’re showing the Royals and Twins on the northeastern market's broadcast...Just want to thank, FOX! Thanks...thanks for that...")

• DC lefty Ross Detwiler goes just 5.0 innings in his last ‘09 outing, allowing 1 hit and 4 walks, but no runs. Detwiler's replaced on the mound by Saul "Sa-ool" Rivera. Rivera gets two outs, but gives up a walk and a single and is lifted for Ron Villone, who comes on to face left-hander Brian McCann, and surrenders a two-run single that ties the game at 2-2. Villone gets out of the sixth, throws a scoreless seventh and comes back out for the eight, striking out Brooks Conrad and then hanging a slider to Nate McLouth that's lifted to center for a double. Jason Bergmann's called upon with a runner on second and one down and he strikes out Martin Prado and Chipper Jones to end the eighth!! Don't Make Bergmann Angry!!!!

• Braves’ backstop Brian McCann singles to start the bottom of the ninth, and Yunel Escobar’s sac bunt puts McCann in scoring position. Still tied at 2-2. Jason Bergmann walks Garrett Anderson to set up the DP and Omar Infante plays along, grounding to second, Pete Orr to Ian Desmond to Adam Dunn, double play!!! Extras. Nationals' 10th, Ryan Zimmerman doubles with two down, Adam Dunn gets the intentionals and Cristian Guzman shocks THE WORLD! with a two-run double to right that sets DC up to win its sixth-straight in the next-to-last game of '09...

• DC Manager Jim Riggleman...calls upon Zack Segovia to get the save. Leadoff single by Adam LaRoche and a pinch hit double by Kelly Johnson, NO NO NO!!! LaRoche scores on Johnson's hit. 4-3 DC. Nate McLouth flies out, Martin Prado pops out, Chipper Jones gets the intentionals to bring up pinch hitter Greg Norton, (ed. note - "Heck, worked for the Nationals last inning, right?")...Norton rips a line drive single to center, Kelly Johnson crosses, 4-4 after ten.

• Mike Morse grounds out, Pete Orr singles, Justin Maxwell steps to the plate, and it'll have to be another Braves' comeback, Justin Maxwell goes yard to make up for two questionable plays in the outfield, and the Washington Nationals are once again ahead by two, 6-4 courtesy of Maxwell's 4th HR in 85 AB's with DC...Logan Kensing will pitch the Braves' 11th...NO NO N...I mean GO Logan!!! Garrett Anderson grounds out, Omar Infante pops out, and Adam LaRoche K's swinging!! Kensing gets his first save since June 6th 2006...and the Washington Nationals win their 58th game of 2009...

Nationals now 58-103.

(ed. note - "LAST GAME OF THE SEASON TOMORROW!! STOP BY, SAY HI, OR GOODBYE TIL NEXT YEAR!!! LURKERS? You're part of the DC Faithful too, stop in and say hi in tomorrow's GameThread, and see how much we like new folks in the GameThread!!! ONE MORE GAME LEFT...Make it a good one...")

Not TONIGHT!! Washington Nationals Avoid 100th Loss, Beat L.A. Dodgers 5-4.

Ed Chigliak — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 03:50:02 -0000

More photos » by Nick Wass - AP

2 months ago: Washington Nationals catcher Josh Bard, top, holds up the ball after he tagged out Los Angeles Dodgers' Andre Ethier (16) at home during the fourth inning of a baseball game Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2009, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

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The Washington Nationals enter play tonight 51-99...on the verge of their second-straight 100-loss season...

• Rosswiler - After he gave up a leadoff single to Rafael Furcal, Ross Detwiler had the Dodgers’ shortstop picked off first, but Furcal took off and beat the throw to second from Adam Dunn when DC’s SS Cristian Guzman was late to the bag. Furcal moved to third on a groundout by Ronnie Belliard and scored on an RBI groundout by Andre Ethier when he should’ve been out picked off first...1-0 LA.

• SSSSUPER DUKESSSS - The Dodgers almost blew the game wide open in the fourth when Ronnie Belliard reached on a sharp grounder to short and Ross Detwiler issued a one-out to Andre Ethier and a two-out walk to James Loney to load the bases for Russell Martin. Martin lined to right to score Belliard and Ethier took the turn around third, (Don’t do it, Andre! Don’t!!)...Elijah SSSSSUPER DUKESSSS fields coming in and fires home, Josh Bard catches it, reaches across the plate forces Ethier outside and makes the tag, "You’rrrrrrre OUT!!!" yells the Ump!!! 2-0 LA.

• Blinded By The Lights...Top of the sixth, Ross Detwiler gives up a leadoff line drive double to Ronnie Belliard, but Detwiler gets the next two before intentionally walking Matt Kemp. Two on, two out for James Loney, Loney lines out to lef--Willie Harris charges in but loses it in the lights, Harris shields his eyes and has the ball drop between his legs into the grass. Belliard scores, 3-0 LA.

• THE KIDS CALL HIM ZIM!!! Ryan Zimmerman gives DC a chance to avoid 100-losses for one more night. LA righty Chad Billingsley’s walk-filled no-hitter is broken up with two down in the bottom of the sixth when Zimmerman steps in after a two-out walk to Adam Dunn with Mike Morse already on having walked to start the frame. Billingsley starts Zim with a curve high in the zone and Zimm---THE KIDS CALL HIM ZIM!! THE KIDS CALL HIM ZIM!! Ryan Zimmerman hits a line drive to left and GONE!!! 3-run HR, 3-3 game after six...

• THE SHOCKING ERROR-FILLED CONCLUSION...And THE FULL GAME REPORT AFTER THE JUMP!!!!

• The DC Faithful Were Watching...

• Check Out The SB Nation's LA Dodgers Blog: True Blue LA.

• "HOLY @#$& we WON!" - Doghouse.

Nationals now...Can Washington Avoid Loss #100?

For Some Reason, Jim Riggleman? - Mike MacDougal, Nationals' closer, was called upon in the eighth and out of his element, the "occasionally" wild Scotsman does his best to blow it up....Leadoff walk to the Dodgers' Left-Fielder. MacDougal rears back and hurls a 97 mph 1-2 heater by Matt Kemp, but James Loney singles to right moving the LA LF to third. 1-2 fastball to Russell Martin, Martin lines to--ADAM DUNN! Dunn catches it, steps on second, double play the hard way and it's 3-3 after seven and a half.

The Guzzz Hates You! - Cristian Guzman started the eighth with a single, and took second when Manny Ramirez and Matt Kemp both pulled up and let a pop fly from Adam Dunn fall between them...First and second for Elijah Dukes...Cristian Guzman had heroic thoughts as he rounded third on the one-out groundout Elijah Dukes which had double play written all over it with Dunn running from first, but Elijah Dukes busted *** and so did the Guz, and when much-maligned LA infielder Orlando Hudson's throw pulled James Loney off first, Dukes was safe, and the Guzzzzz took advantage of the error at first and slid in safe just ahead of Loney's throw home!!! 4-3 DC after eight.

And Now Move Over To Second, Guz!!! or E: 131, E: 132 - Mike MacDougal's back out in the ninth to close out his own win, and he gives up a hotshot to short off Hudson's bat, Guzman fields deep in the hole and throws to first, but it hops on Dunn, (whereas Nick John...sorry!) and Dunn bobbles it and trips Hudson in the process, though the runner's safe. (E: 131). Hudson's replaced on the basepaths by Jason Repko, and Repko's soon standing on third after Jim Thome's-for-hire-single. MacDougal walks Rafael Furcal, to load the bases with no outs. Ronnie Belliard, the former National, grounds to his pal Guzman at short, Guzman throws home...but wiiiiide...Repko scores, 4-4 ballgame. (E: 132). Sean Burnett gets Ethier swinging. Saul Rivera takes care (somehow) of LA's left fielder and Matt Kemp...(somehow = a groundout to Guzman from the LA LF and a good throw home this time and a liner from Kemp to the same frustrated shortstop.) and it's on to DC's ninth...

Maxwell, Justin Maxwell!!!

DC outfielder Justin Maxwell singles off Dodgers' reliever James McDonald, and takes second on a successful sac bunt from Alberto Gonzalez. What?? Maxwell steals third with Jorge Padilla at bat. Jorge Padilla walks. Pinch Hittin' Pete Orr...lines to right, Ethier...allows it to fall, Maxwell trots home. Ballgame. The Washington Nationals will not lose 100 games tonight!! The Nationals win, 5-4 final.

GAME REPORT:

Los Angeles Dodgers At Washington Nationals. Game 151 Of 162.

Rafael Furcal singles up the middle to start the Washington Nationals' 151st game of 2009. With Ronnie Belliard up, Furcal gets picked off first by Ross Detwiler, but Furcal beats the throw to second from Adam Dunn. Belliard grounds out to second, Furcal takes third. Andre Ethier’s groundout to second scores Furcal, 1-0 LA. Manny Ramirez’s groundout to third ends the Dodgers’ first...Willie Harris takes a fastball on the outside edge for a called strike three. Cristian Guzman grounds out to Orlando Hudson at second. Adam Dunn K’s swinging over a sinking fastball inside.

Matt Kemp flies out to Elijah Dukes in right. Ross Detwiler gets a sliced liner to left out of James Loney. Ryan Zimmerman throws out Russell Martin to end LA’s second...Ryan Zimmerman K’s swinging over a looping curve outside from Bilingsley. Elijah Dukes can’t beat the throw from Furcal to first on the groundout. Josh Bard pops out to the infield in a quick second.

Orlando Hudson flies out to Justin Maxwell in center. Detwiler pops up the opposing pitcher. Rafael Furcal chops at a 77mph bender and grounds out to second to end the top of the third...Justin Maxwell takes a two-strike curve and gets called out by the over-enthusiastic home plate Ump. Alberto Gonzalez grounds out to second. Billingsley gets Detwiler looking as well. 1-0 LA after three.

Cristian Guzman stabs a one-hopper off Belliard’s bat but throws wide of first rushing to get a "speedy" Belliard. Detwiler walks Andre Ethier to bring up Manny Ramirez with two on. Ramirez flies out to Dukes in right, and Dukes’ throw in holds everyone where they are. Ronnie Belliard takes third on a fly out to right from Matt Kemp. Detwiler walks James Loney, and it’s bases loaded for Russell Martin. Martin lines to right to score Belliard, and Ethier (No don’t!!) Ethier runs on Dukes and gets nailed on a perfect throw home. 2-0 after three and a half...Willie Harris K’s watching a two-strike curve all the way in. Cristian Guzman flies out to center. Adam Dunn takes a two-out walk for the Nationals’ first baserunner. Ryan Zimmerman walks to bring up Dukes with two on and two out. Billingsley keeps throwing curves til Dukes K’s chasing one out of the zone.

Orlando Hudson flies to Dukes in right. Chad Billingsley grounds weakly to short and trots toward first as Guzman fields and throws. Elijah Dukes charges and slides in on a low liner from Furcal, but the second base Ump says he trapped it. What will Belliard do with the extra out? Nothing! Detwiler picks Furcal off and this time they get him!!...Josh Bard grounds back to the mound. Justin Maxwell bounces one toward third Rafael Furcal gets it and fires to first, in time. Alberto Gonzalez takes strike three for another backwards K.

Ronnie Belliard rrrrips a line drive to left field for a leadoff double that has him thinking triple out of the box. Andre Ethier pops out behind short. Manny Ramirez moves Belliard up with a groundout to short. Detwiler issues the intentionals to Matt Kemp. James Loney lines to left, Willlie Harris tries to shade his eyes, but he loses it and it drops in front of him, Belliard scores, 3-0 LA and Detwiler’s out. Jason Bergmann pops up Russell Martin to end the top of the frame...Mike Morse walks to start the Nationals’ sixth. Willie Harris swings over an 0-2 bender low in the zone. Cristian Guzman grounds into a force at second. Adam Dunn takes a two-out walk in front of Ryan Zimmerman. Zimmerman gets a first pitch curve up high and he destroys it, THE KIDS CALL HIM ZIM!! THE KIDS CALL HIM ZIM!!! HR #31 to right, 3-run blast, tie ballgame in the sixth, on ZIM's 100th RBI OF '09!!!! and Billingsley’s walk-filled no-hitter is over. Elijah Dukes grounds out to end the inning.

Tyler Clippard takes over on the mound against Orlando Hudson and issues a leadoff walk. Juan Pierre sends a dribbler toward third that Zimmerman handles. One down. Hudson to second. Justin Maxell gets to a fly ball off Furcal’s bat. Ronnie Belliard takes a two-out walk in front of Andre Ethier. Ethier pops out to end the top of the seventh...Hong-Chih Kuo on for LA. Josh Bard K’s chasing. Justin Maxwell walks with one down. Alberto Gonzalez pushes a single out to right off Kuo. Two on for pinch hitter Josh Willingham. The Hammer flies out to the wall in left, where Manny makes the catch. Maxwell takes third. Ian Desmond grounds out to Ronnie Belliard to end the seventh. Still 3-3.

Mike MacDougal’s on in the eighth and he walks Manny Ramirez to start the inning. Matt Kemps K’s swinging through a fastball. Manny Ramirez goes first to third on a one-out single to right by James Loney. Russell Martin lines to ri--Adam Dunn!! Dunn makes the catch, steps on first, double play!!!...George Sherrill takes over against Cristian Guzman in the Nationals’ eighth. The Guzzz singles to right to start the inning. Adam Dunn pops out to left cen--Kemp up, Manny pulls up, and it drops in for a single. First and second with one down. Ryan Zimmerman gets his bat shattered by Sherrill and he pops out foul of first. Elijah Dukes grounds to second, Hudson steps on the bag and throws...WIDE OF FIRST!! Loney comes off the bag!! Dukes is safe!!! Guzman comes around third and beats Loney’s throw HOME!!! 4-3 DC!!! 4-3 DC!!! Josh Bard pops out to the infield to end the eighth.

MacDougal’s back against Orlando Hudson. Hudson grounds to short, Guzman fires from deep in the hole, but the throw bounces and Dunn misses it, tripping Hudson in the process. Jim Thome singles back up the middle to move Hudson’s pinch runner, Jason Repko, to third. Rafael Furcal works the count full and walks to load the bases. Ronnie Belliard grounds weakly to third, Guzman throws home, but wide!! NO! 4-4 ballgame. MacDougal’s done. Sean Burnett gets Andre Ethier swinging for the first out. Burnett out, Saul Rivera on to get the DP. Manny Ramirez grounds to short, and this time Guzman’s throw home is true. Matt Kemp rips a line drive, right into Guzman’s glove!!! 4-4 in the ninth...Justin Maxwell vs James McDonald. Maxwell smokes a groundball by Ronnie Belliard at third. Alberto "The General" Gonzalez gets a sac bunt down to move Maxwell to second. MAXWELL STEALS THIRD!! JUST PLAIN SWIPES IT!! Jorge Padilla walks with one down. Pinch Hittin’ Pete Orr flies to right, Ethier lets it drop, Maxwell scores to win it!! Nationals win!! Nationals win. 5-4 final.

Nationals now 52-99.

No-No Becomes "Oh No" For Dodgers

Eric Stephen — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 02:58:56 -0000

More photos » by Nick Wass - AP

Home plate umpire Tom Hallion was quite memorable tonight.

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A beautiful beginning for the Dodgers ended up with an ugly, frustrating loss, as the Nationals pushed across a run to win in the ninth inning, 5-4. Missed opportunities both in the field and at the plate led to the loss, and the Orlando Hudson even got hurt, playing in his first game in four days.

A hanging curve by ended the Chad Billingsley feel-good story of the night, as Ryan Zimmerman hit a three-run, game-tying home run to break up Billingsley's no-hitter. Billingsley was electric tonight, finishing with nine strikeouts, five of them looking, made all the more memorable by the emphatic calls by home plate umpire Tom Hallion. Billingsley did walk four, including two in the sixth before Zimmerman's tying blast, but overall he looked great. He had good command of his fastball, and outside of that one pitch to Zimmerman, Billingsley pitched a gem.

A tied game in the later innings figured to favor the Dodgers, with their superior bullpen, but the eighth inning is where it started to head south for the Dodgers. With Cristian Guzman on first base and nobody out, George Sherrill induced a pop-up to left centerfield. The ball should have easily been caught by Matt Kemp, but Kemp and Manny got confused and the ball dropped between them. One out later, Elijah Dukes hit an easy double play ball up the middle. All Hudson had to do was step on second and through to first to end the inning, but O-Dog rushed the throw and threw wildly to first. As James Loney came off the bag to retrieve the errant throw, Guzman scampered home from second (hat tip to El Lay Dave) with the go-ahead run.

Hudson led off the ninth with an infield single, but tripped over Dunn as he crossed first base. Hudson fell to the ground, hard, and had to leave the game. Post-game reports said Hudson jammed his left wrist, and is day to day. The Dodgers loaded the bases with nobody out, and scored the tying run when Christian Guzman threw wild to home plate on a grounder by Ronnie Belliard.

The game was now tied, the bases were still loaded, and the meat of the lineup was due up. All the stars seemed aligned to getting George Sherrill his first win as a Dodger, which would have made him the club-record 22nd Dodger to get a win this season. However, Andre Ethier struck out, Manny grounded out, and the birthday boy Matt Kemp lined out to end the inning and the threat. Ethier, Ramirez, and Kemp combined for no hits in 12 at-bats, with three walks on the night.

James McDonald came in to pitch the ninth inning, and was greeted by a leadoff single by Justin Maxwell. A sacrifice and an all-too-easy steal of third base led to a precarious situation. Jorge Padilla walked, then Pete Orr lifted a flyball to medium-deep right field. It looked to be a sure game-ending sacrifice fly anyway, especially with Ethier retreating on the ball, but it seemed fitting with all the late sloppiness that the ball bounced off Ethier's glove for an error, and a Dodger loss.

Despite the tough loss, Billingsley's outing was encouraging. That seems weird to say in an outing when Billingsley's went up from 4.05 to 4.07, but he was dealing. He's close to being back, which is good news. A weird night deserves a weird stat: Billingsley is the 15th LA Dodger ever to give up three or more runs while giving up one or less hits.

Vicente Padilla faces J.D. Martin tomorrow night in the series finale.

Magic Numbers
To win NL West: 6, but really 5 (Rockies lost to the Padres 6-3)
To clinch a playoff spot: 2 (Braves beat the Mets 5-2, and the Giants beat Arizona 5-2)

WP - Saul Rivera (1-3): 2 batters, 2 outs

LP - James McDonald (5-5): 0.1 IP, 1 hit, 1 run, 1 walk

Box Score

Philadelphia Phillies Sweep Washington Nationals, 4-2 in Philly. Win Season Series 15-3.

Ed Chigliak — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 03:44:59 -0000

More photos » by Matt Slocum - AP

"That guy in gray going to be sad when he opens his eyes..." -- Washington Nationals third baseman Ryan Zimmerman pulls in a pop foul out by Philadelphia Phillies' Chase Utley in the sixth inning of a baseball game, Thursday, Sept. 17, 2009, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

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(ed. note - "Handing Philadelphia the East does not sit well with me. If the Nationals had put up any kind of a fight there might be a race in the NL East, but instead DC ends the season series with the Phillies 3-15. 3-15. The Nationals drop five of the last six games with the Phillies and are swept out of Citizens Bank Park for the second straight series...")

Lefty vs Lefty...Cole Hamels Has People Thinking...

Both starters, Cole Hamels and Ross Detwiler started with two scoreless, though Hamels dominated, throwing just 23 pitches and retiring six straight, while Detwiler gave up two hits and threw 46, 29 for strikes....Hamels retires the first twelve he faces, with Detwiler not nearly as clean but so far keeping up. 1-2-3 5th for Hamels, who strikes out two of three for 4 K’s through 5.0 scoreless. Detwiler finally fails to hold serve, walking Pedro Feliz to start the bottom of the fifth and giving up a two-out double to Jimmy Rollins to make it 1-0 Philly...Mike Morse breaks up Cole Hamels' no-no in the top of the sixth with a single to left...

Big Blow If It’s Bad...

Wil Nieves rolled a dribbler back to the mound in the third and had to take an odd step to avoid Ryan Howard who backed into Nieves’ path. Nieves pulls up lame holding the back of his knee and when the Nationals retake the field, Josh Bard’s behind the plate. If Nieves is injured the Nationals are going to have to make a quick move...(ed. note - "Later in the game it's identified as a hamstring issue...")

UPDATE: Nationals acquire C Jamie Burke from Mariners? -MLBTraderumors.com

Updates? After The JUMP...

Phillies win, 4-2.

• "Game 146: Cole Hamels is no Joe Blanton..." - by Doghouse.

• Miss The Game? The DC Faithful Were Watching...

• Check Out the SB Nation's Philadelphia Phillies Blog: The Good Phight GameThread.

For The Completists, Full Game Report After The JUMP...

Nationals now 50-96.

• Tyler Clippard’s Long Inning...

• Tyler Clippard took over for Ross Detwiler in the sixth and got the first out courtesy of Ryan Zimmerman's over-the-tarp catch of a foul ball featured in the photo above. Clippard then walked Ryan Howard...and Jayson Werth...and gave up a single to Ben Francisco to load the bases with one out and the score just 1-0 Philly. Carlos Ruiz is up next, and Detwiler walks him, throwing a wild pitch on a full-count change...2-0 Phillies. Clippard's lifted for Saul Rivera, who surrenders an RBI single to Cole Hamels...who ends up with the game winner...3-0 Philly after six...

Clippard: 0.2 IP, 1 H, 2 ER, 3 BB...

Dukes gets DC on the board...

After 6.1 scoreless, Cole Hamels finally gave up a run. Hamels saws off Zimmerman and Josh Willingham, but they both power singles to right and left, respectively, in front of Elijah SSSSUPER DUKESSS, who rrrrips a single through short for the Nationals' first run, scoring Zimmerman from second to make it 3-1 Philly...

Bases Loaded Fail in the seventh...

3-1 Phillies after Dukes' RBI single...DC rookie Ian Desmond walks, and it's bases loaded for tonight's first baseman Mike Morse...(ed. note - "Was something wrong with Dunn tonight? No PH? No...Okay, moving on...")...Morse flies out unproductively to right. Josh Bard, forced to come in for the injured Wil Nieves...strikes out looking to strand three...still 3-1 Philly.

A Few More Wild Pitches....

Down 3-1 after six and a half...The Nationals bring Ron Villone out when the Phillies send Raul Ibanez up to hit, and Villone gets his man, striking out Ibanez looking...then Villone walks Chase Utley...and throws a wild pitch to Ryan Howard to move Utley up...Howard's groundout moves Utley to third, Washington brings out Logan Kensing...who uncorks the second wild pitch of the inning to bring Utley in for a 3-run, 4-1 Philly lead...

Oh, Dukes scored the Nationals' second run after tripling with one out in the ninth and scoring to just make Brad Lidge think a little about an otherwise decent outing...Phillies win 4-2.

GAME REPORT:

Washington Nationals At Philadelphia Phillies. Game 146 Of 162.

Pedro Feliz grabs Justin Maxwell’s one hopper on the infield grass and throws to first to start tonight’s game. Cole Hamels drops an 0-2 change into the top of the zone to get Cristian Guzman looking. Feliz waits for Ryan Zimmerman’s grounder and the throw to first ends the top of the frame...Jimmy Rollins yanks a single to left to start Philly’s first. Josh Willingham tracks a line drive off Shane Victorino’s bat and dives to make the play. Chase Utley rips a single through second. Jimmy Rollins stops at second when Elijah Dukes fields it coming in. DC lefty Ross Detwiler throws a two-strike fastball by Ryan Howard for the second out of the inning. Jayson Werth grounds back to the mound, Detwiler tosses to Mike Morse.

Josh Willingham flies out to Ben Francisco in left. Elijah Dukes goes the other way with a line drive to right, right to Werth. Ian Desmond’s fly gets as far as the track in right center...Ben Francisco chases a high full-count fastball. Pedro Feliz rolls the second out to Morse at first. Carlos Ruiz grounds to Guzman.

Mike Morse barely connects with a roller back to Hamels. Wil Nieves grounds to the mound and injures himself taking an odd step at first. Ross Detwiler K’s looking...Bard’s behind the plate when Detwiler retakes the mound. Cole Hamels K’s swinging through a fastball. Josh Willingham catches a fly ball from Jimmy Rollins. Shane Victorino grounds out to short.

Justin Maxwell pops up foul of first for Ryan Howard. Cristian Guzman grounds to Howard at first, Hamels covers. Ryan Zimmerman rips a line drive right into a leaping Raul Ibanez’s glove, four scoreless for Hamels...Ross Detwiler gets Chase Utley swinging through a fastball. Ross Detwiler hits Ryan Howard in the hand with an 0-2 pitch. Jayson Werth powers a shattered bat single over second to put two on for Ben Francisco. Francisco grounds to third, Ryan Zimmerman steps on the bag and throws to first from his hip for the improbable DP.

Cole Hamels drops a 2-2 curve on Josh Willingham to get the thirteenth straight out of the game. Elijah Dukes flies out to center. Ian Desmond takes strike three, but doesn’t like it. 15-straight for Hamels...Pedro Feliz walks to start the bottom of the fifth inning. Carlos Ruiz grounds off Detwiler’s glove, and the lefty recovers to throw out the catcher at first. Detwiler gets Hamels swinging. Jimmy Rollins pulls a high fastball to left for an RBI double, 1-0 Phillies when Feliz scores. Shane Victorino takes a called strike three, he doesn’t like it, but he takes it.

Mike Morse sends a single screaming to left to bring an abrupt end to Hamels’ chances of a special outing. Josh Bard K’s looking and understands Victorino’s complaint. Jorge Padilla takes strike three, this time it’s a fastball inside. Justin Maxwell has to run it out after he K’s swinging over a change in the dirt....Tyler Clippard takes over for Detwiler in the sixth. Ryan Zimmerman tracks down a foul pop from Utley and leaps over the tarp to make a brilliant catch. Clippard walks Ryan Howard with one down. Werth takes the second straight walk. Ben Francisco singles to center to load the bases for Pedro Feliz. Feliz pops out to the catcher. Carlos Ruiz works the count full and takes ball four on a pitch in the dirt that gets away from Bard. 2-0 Phillies. Cole Hamels will face Saul Rivera. Hamels singles by third, 3-0 Phillies. Jimmy Rollins pops out to center to end the sixth.

Cristian Guzman leads off the seventh with a swinging K. Ryan Zimmerman drops a single over first and into short right. Josh Willingham shatters his bat singling to left to move Zim up to second. Elijah Dukes rrrrips the third straight single through short to score Zimmerman from second, 3-1 Phillies. Ian Desmond walks to load the bases. Mike Morse pops out high over right. Josh Bard takes a 2-2 change inside for a called strike three. Nationals strand three...3-1 Philly...Raul Ibanez comes out to start the Phillies’ seventh, and Jim Riggleman pulls Saul Rivera. Ron Villone vs Ibanez. Lefty vs Lefty. Ibanez takes strike three on the high inside corner. Villone walks Utley. Ryan Howard steps in. Utley takes second on a passed ball wild pitch and takes third on Ryan Howard’s groundout. Logan Kensing replaces Villone. Jayson Werth’s up when Kensing throws another wild pitch. Utley scores, 4-1. Werth lines out to short.

Alberto Gonzalez starts the eighth with a fly ball to the corner in left, Raul Ibanez leaps at the wall to make an amazing grab. Justin Maxwell hits a one-out double into the left field corner. Maxwell takes third on a groundout by Guzman. Cole Hamels throws a two-strike change by Ryan Zimmerman. 4-1 after seven and a half...Marco Estrada’s going to pitch the eighth for DC. Ben Francisco pops out to first. Pedro Feliz grounds out to Dukes in right. Carlos Ruiz chops out to Zim, and Estrada’s got a quick scoreless frame.

Brad Lidge vs Josh Willingham. Josh Willingham flies out to center. Elijah Dukes flies to deeeep center, Jayson Werth slides in for it, and almost collides with Ben Francisco as the ball drops to the ground. Desmond grounds out to short to score Dukes. 4-2 Philly. Willie Harris flies out to center to end it. Phillies win, 4-2 final.

Nationals now 50-96.